Currently in the marketplace there is a need for a cost competitive paper cup that will reduce or prevent burns when an individual holds a cup of hot liquid such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate and the like. There is also a need in the marketplace for a cost competitive paper hot cup that will not leak or will resist leaking when filled with warm and hot liquids.
Various types of paper cups have been developed to address the problem associated with discomfort or injury from warm or hot liquids in a paper cup. Some cups have been developed to insulate the user from the hot liquid such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,129,653; 5,752,653; 5,454,484; 5,226,585; 5,145,107; and 4,548,349; or by forming a handle on the paper cup such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,527,169 and 5,393,292, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Today's hot cup market is a highly competitive market. Unfortunately, there is currently no good solution to the insulation/burn problem. Many manufacturers have tried wrapping corrugated materials around the paper cup in the fowl of jackets (called java jackets) and have, in some instances secured the corrugated material to the paper cup by an adhesive. All these previous designs have been unacceptable since such designs failed to reach a desired cost level of one and a half times the cost of a standard hot cup (also the equivalent to the cost of a regular cup plus a java jacket). One of the better hot-cup designs available is a 16 oz. Insulair cup made by International Paper. The Insulair cup is formed by melting a polymeric coating around the outside of the cup. The coating material crystallizes and forms a satisfactory-looking cup. One of the problems with this cup is that the cup does a poor job of insulating a user from hot liquids that are in the cup. The Insulair cup only cuts down on the outer temperature of the cup, and does nothing to prevent leaks that can occur at the base of the cup.
There are over 1 billion hot cups per year served at Starbucks alone. These cups include a mandatory java jacket; however, these cups still occasionally leak through the bottom. Other companies such as Caribou Coffee also require that its stores insert a corrugated sleeve on every paper cup served that contains warm or hot liquid. Some companies also insert a corrugated sleeve on paper cups that include cold liquid such as iced coffee, smoothies, etc. The use of the corrugated sleeve prevents injury and/or reduces discomfort when a user picks up the paper cup. The inclusion of the corrugated sleeve on the cup adds a raw material cost and requires the company to monitor and maintain additional inventory, thereby reducing profit margins. The insertion of the corrugated sleeve on the paper cup also increases labor costs for the time spent properly inserting the corrugated sleeve on the paper cup, thereby further reducing profit margins. The failure of an employee to insert or to properly insert the corrugated sleeve on the paper cup can result in injury to a consumer.
Even with the use of the corrugated sleeve on the paper cup, the paper cup is still susceptible to leakage of hot liquid. The hot liquid in the paper cup tends to melt, soften and/or degrade the adhesive that secures the bottom of the paper cup to the sidewall of the paper cup, thereby resulting in the liquid leaking from the base of the paper cup. The leakage of the liquid from the paper cup onto a consumer can result in injury to the consumer when the warm or hot liquid leaks from the bottom of the paper cup. The leaking of liquid from the paper cup can also result in damage/staining to a surface upon which the paper cup rests and/or on other surfaces (e.g., floor, clothing, vehicle, etc.).
When cold liquids are inserted in a paper cup, condensation begins to form on the outer surface and base of the paper cup. This is commonly referred to as sweating. Over time, enough condensation forms to cause water to run down the side of the paper cup and form a water stain around the paper cup. Such staining can damage a surface or cause undesirable staining of clothing or other absorbent materials.
In view of the existing problems associated with paper cups, there is a need for an improved paper cup that 1) protects a user from injury or discomfort from the warm, hot or cold liquids in the paper cup, 2) reduces the incidence of leakage from the paper cup, and/or 3) which reduces sweating problems associated with use of a paper cup.